Nadya Suleman

Medical Curiosity

Born: 1975

Birthplace: Fullerton, California

Best known as: The woman who gave birth to octuplets in 2009

Name at birth: Natalie Doud

Known as "Octo-Mom" to the tabloids, Nadya Suleman is the woman who gave birth to octuplets in California on 26 January 2009. The births were a sensation: eight children, two girls and six boys, born nine and a half weeks prematurely by Caesarian section. The story took a twist when newspapers revealed that Suleman had six children already, was unemployed and on food stamps, and had used in vitro fertilization to get pregnant with the eight children. The revelations led to a public outcry and even more fame for Suleman and her kids. All the octuplets survived and spent weeks in intensive care. In order of birth, they are: Noah, Maliah, Isaiah, Nariah, Makai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.

Extra credit: Suleman was married to Marcos Gutierrez from 1996 until 2008. They separated in 2000 but a formal divorce wasn't granted until 2008. None of Suleman's 14 children were fathered by Guiterrez; all were conceived through in vitro fertilization... Among Suleman's other children are twins, Calyssa and Caleb, born in 2006... Suleman was born to Edward and Angela Doud, and was named Natalie as a child. It's unclear when she took the name Nadya Suleman... The octuplets were born at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower, California, which is a suburb of Los Angeles.